Andrew Lawrence-King - Harp Music of the Italian Renaissance (2004)

I believe that this was Andrew Lawrence-King's first recording (1986) -- a sterling effort which is ample proof of why he went on to become a well-established figure in his field. He has appeared on numerous recordings, including many with Jordi Savall's Hesperian XX, and is currently the director of the Harp Consort. The program is both musically interesting and eminently listenable; and given Lawrence-King's credentials (he won an Organ Scholarship to Selwyn College, Cambridge and completed his studies at the London Early Music Centre), his understanding of the material is unquestionably comprehensive. His technical execution is equally impressive.
Half of the disc is taken up by six pieces from Trabaci, a harpist, organist and singer who was an important forerunner of Frescobaldi; the remainder comes from a variety of composers all of whom lived between the late sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries. If the music itself sounds like it could just as easily be heard on the lute or keyboard, that's because it originally was. In fact, all of the pieces here were written for these instruments (or voice), as very little music that was written for harp during this period has survived. The chromatic double harp is an ideal vehicle for these works, which range from love songs and dance music to madrigals. There's a peaceful simplicity to much of this music that transports the listener to another place and time.